BCG News - 04/12/05
04/12/05
Piper Rudnick ranked a top M&A firm
The Bush Administration has selected Latham & Watkins partner Alice Fisher to run the Justice Department's Criminal Division. Fisher is a protege of Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, and she'll replace outgoing chief Christopher Wray. From 2001 until 2003, Fisher, 38, served as Chertoff's deputy in the Criminal Division, overseeing major fraud and terrorism cases. However, unlike Chertoff and Wray, Fisher has never served as a federal prosecutor. Instead, Fisher has spent the bulk of her career as a white-collar defense lawyer at Latham & Watkins. Firm Press Release
McCarter & English increases salaries in Philadelphia Office
McCarter & English has raised the starting salaries for first-year associates in its Philadelphia office from $100,000 to $115,000, commencing this fall when the next group of new associates joins the firm. The announcement is according to Philadelphia office managing partner Alec Kerr. He said the firm was still deciding what would happen to the salaries of more senior associates in Philadelphia. The New Jersey-based firm has 14 associates in its 24-lawyer Philadelphia office. "At this point we need to evaluate how this change is going to affect us," Kerr said. "But I think it's a good assumption that associates in their second and third years will make more money than first-years." The Legal Intelligencer
December closes out busy year for deal making
December was the busiest month for corporate deals in 2004, with 15% of the value of U.S. deals announced that month, according to the American Lawyer's Corporate Scorecard. For the year, deal volume topped $830 billion, up from $570 billion in 2003 but less than half the 2000 total. Leveraged buyouts accounted for 8% of the announced deals, the highest level since 1989. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (14 deals worth $22 billion) and Weil Gotshal & Manges (12 deals worth $10 million) were the top private equity firms for the year. The American Lawyer
Coudert Brothers facing decline?
New York's Coudert Brothers has a long history of international success. It was established in Paris a decade before the Eiffel Tower, and many languages can be heard in the hallways of its 21 offices. But that glamour may be fading. The 150-year-old firm built its reputation by expanding internationally, but is now rapidly contracting. During the last two years, its head count has slid from 630 to 550 lawyers, the firm has shed offices, and it tried but failed to merge with Cleveland's Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. One possible reason for the decline, according to some present and former partners, is that the management placed too much emphasis on international expansion, and not enough on its New York headquarters. Legal Times
British firms to network at major exhibition
More than 90 corporate firms, including law firms, have already signed up for this month's Business Connections networking event at Cheltenham Racecourse in England. Last year, in only its first year on the calendar, the event established itself as one of the largest business-to-business events in the country. The organizer, Premier Exhibitions, is confident this year the event will cement its reputation as the place for businesses to be seen and heard. Star attractions this month include the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the CBI, and the DTI. Brian Robinson, director of the Gloucestershire branch of the CIM, said: "[E]veryone attending will come away having learned something that they can put to use in their daily business lives." The Gloucester Citizen
Piper Rudnick ranked a top M&A firm
The Bush Administration has selected Latham & Watkins partner Alice Fisher to run the Justice Department's Criminal Division. Fisher is a protege of Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, and she'll replace outgoing chief Christopher Wray. From 2001 until 2003, Fisher, 38, served as Chertoff's deputy in the Criminal Division, overseeing major fraud and terrorism cases. However, unlike Chertoff and Wray, Fisher has never served as a federal prosecutor. Instead, Fisher has spent the bulk of her career as a white-collar defense lawyer at Latham & Watkins. Firm Press Release
McCarter & English increases salaries in Philadelphia Office
McCarter & English has raised the starting salaries for first-year associates in its Philadelphia office from $100,000 to $115,000, commencing this fall when the next group of new associates joins the firm. The announcement is according to Philadelphia office managing partner Alec Kerr. He said the firm was still deciding what would happen to the salaries of more senior associates in Philadelphia. The New Jersey-based firm has 14 associates in its 24-lawyer Philadelphia office. "At this point we need to evaluate how this change is going to affect us," Kerr said. "But I think it's a good assumption that associates in their second and third years will make more money than first-years." The Legal Intelligencer
December closes out busy year for deal making
December was the busiest month for corporate deals in 2004, with 15% of the value of U.S. deals announced that month, according to the American Lawyer's Corporate Scorecard. For the year, deal volume topped $830 billion, up from $570 billion in 2003 but less than half the 2000 total. Leveraged buyouts accounted for 8% of the announced deals, the highest level since 1989. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett (14 deals worth $22 billion) and Weil Gotshal & Manges (12 deals worth $10 million) were the top private equity firms for the year. The American Lawyer
Coudert Brothers facing decline?
New York's Coudert Brothers has a long history of international success. It was established in Paris a decade before the Eiffel Tower, and many languages can be heard in the hallways of its 21 offices. But that glamour may be fading. The 150-year-old firm built its reputation by expanding internationally, but is now rapidly contracting. During the last two years, its head count has slid from 630 to 550 lawyers, the firm has shed offices, and it tried but failed to merge with Cleveland's Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. One possible reason for the decline, according to some present and former partners, is that the management placed too much emphasis on international expansion, and not enough on its New York headquarters. Legal Times
British firms to network at major exhibition
More than 90 corporate firms, including law firms, have already signed up for this month's Business Connections networking event at Cheltenham Racecourse in England. Last year, in only its first year on the calendar, the event established itself as one of the largest business-to-business events in the country. The organizer, Premier Exhibitions, is confident this year the event will cement its reputation as the place for businesses to be seen and heard. Star attractions this month include the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the CBI, and the DTI. Brian Robinson, director of the Gloucestershire branch of the CIM, said: "[E]veryone attending will come away having learned something that they can put to use in their daily business lives." The Gloucester Citizen
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